


what makes it great

by joshllyman



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Baseball, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:41:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25915270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joshllyman/pseuds/joshllyman
Summary: Kageyama Tobio loves baseball. What he doesn't love is having to deal with his teammates.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou & Kageyama Tobio & Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi, Kageyama Tobio & Karasuno Volleyball Club, Kageyama Tobio & Sugawara Koushi
Comments: 8
Kudos: 26





	what makes it great

**Author's Note:**

> This is my piece for Prodigy: A Kageyama Zine, which was an absolute joy to work on. You can find the PDF of the zine [here](https://twitter.com/KageyamaZine/status/1289652441978245122?s=20) (it's free!).

“It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.” —Jimmy Dugan,  _ A League of Their Own _

\---

Tobio has always liked the feeling of the baseball in his hand.

The raised seams, the weight of the cork inside, the leather against the tips of his fingers. There’s something indescribably  _ right _ about it.

As a pitcher, he gets the chance more than anyone else, and he counts himself lucky for it. There are moments when he stands on the mound and faces down a batter, and it’s like he’s the only man standing on the entire field. The deep breath that he takes echoes across the silent turf.

And then he releases.

The part that comes after is less satisfying because it generally involves having to deal with the other members of his team. Some of them aren’t so bad; Daichi’s a great catcher and captain, Asahi, the third baseman, is gentle in demeanor but intimidating at the plate, and Suga, the relief pitcher, has been a great mentor for Tobio since he joined Karasuno’s team.

The second and first years, however, are all far more frustrating characters. 

The hit, an easy grounder to second base, is fumbled by Hinata, who can’t decide whether to throw it to third to get out the lead runner or to first. In the end, he holds it too long, overthrows first, and lets a run score. Yachi looks at him sympathetically as she crosses home plate.

“Hinata!” Tobio shouts, turning on him. “That should have been an easy out!”

“I didn’t know what to do!”

“Anything’s better than nothing!” 

“Alright, alright,” Daichi says, standing and removing his mask. He jogs out to stand between the two of them. “Relax, Kageyama. This is why we have practice. Hinata, in that case, just underhand it to first for the closest out.”

“Okay, Daichi- _ san _ ,” Hinata says. “Sorry.”

“Don’t mind,” Daichi says. He smiles at Hinata, who turns away, before putting a hand on Tobio’s shoulder. “You alright?”

“I’m fine,” Tobio grits out. Daichi raises an eyebrow before heading back behind the plate.

If it had been a real game, they’d have lost spectacularly. Yachi and Kiyoko got in more than their fair share of running the bases and both scored several times. Coach Takeda does a little speech about cohesiveness and unity and offers them meat buns from Coach Ukai’s store.

When Tobio has received his share of the meat buns, he climbs up to the top of the bleachers and generally broadcasts a menacing aura, hoping to be left alone. The first and second years don’t seem to notice him at all, instead crowding around Nishinoya and Tanaka as they shove meat buns into each other’s mouths. Something strange twinges in Tobio’s heart at the sight, but it’s easy enough to ignore if he looks away. 

The third years sit off to the side a bit, talking quietly with Coach Ukai. Daichi looks up every once in a while to say something to Nishinoya, but otherwise, he leaves them alone. After a few minutes, Suga catches him watching and smiles. Tobio attempts to return it before looking down and away.

Before he knows what’s happening, Suga is climbing up to the top of the bleachers. “This seat taken?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

Tobio sighs. “I guess not.”

“So kind,” Suga says, sitting next to him.

For a few minutes, they eat their meat buns in silence. Tobio has always preferred to eat this way, partially because it’s usually quiet when he eats at home and partially because it gives him space to focus on all the flavors of the food he’s eating. His sister told him once if he weren’t destined to play baseball professionally he’d make a pretty good chef.

“You seemed pretty angry today,” Suga says nonchalantly.

Tobio wipes his hands on his pants and folds his arms across his chest. “Yeah.”

“Anything you wanna talk about?”

Tobio rests his head against the fence and looks up at the sky. “Not really.”

“Okay,” Suga agrees. Tobio looks at him with narrowed eyes, knowing he’s not getting off that easily. Suga shrugs. “We can just pull you, then. Kinoshita and I can make do without you.”

Tobio sighs. Suga always knows how to push his buttons. “Sometimes, I’d rather pitch and field all by myself,” he admits. 

Suga laughs. “You’re gonna get really tired really quick that way.”

“Yeah, well, it’s a lot easier than having to rely on everyone else to defend!” Tobio protests.

“But that’s their job, Kageyama,” Suga says gently. “It’s your job to get the ball in play. You have to trust that everyone else will do what they’re supposed to do.”

Tobio frowns. “I don’t trust anyone but myself.”

Suga blinks at him for a moment, but he recovers and sets his last meat bun aside. “When you release the ball, you know someone is going to be there to catch it, right?”

“Probably.”

“Daichi very rarely lets anything past him.”

“I know that.”

“So you’re trusting Daichi to do his job.”

Tobio huffs. “Yeah, I guess.”

“One down, seven to go.” Suga picks up his bun again and takes a bite of it. “You know, it would probably help if you actually talked to your teammates,” he says past the breading. “Get to know them a little. Maybe let them get to know you.”

“I don’t see how knowing things about them will help me,” Tobio replies.

“Have you tried?” Suga asks.

Tobio thinks. He knew some things about Kindaichi and Kunimi, back in the day, but probably not enough. He didn’t know them outside of baseball, really. It had been his lack of trust in the two of them that had caused their rift. He’d fielded a bunt, fired it off to first...and there was no one there to catch it. The runner got to third before they recovered the ball. Tobio was pulled for the rest of the game.

They never talked to him again. 

Suga puts a hand on his knee. “Just think about it, alright?”

Tobio nods. “I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all we can ask for,” Suga answers, grinning brightly.

\---

Tobio isn’t sure if Suga also has this talk with Hinata or if Hinata came up with the idea on his own, but he starts seeking Tobio out at lunchtime. They eat as quickly as they can and then toss a ball back and forth for the remainder of their time together. Hinata talks--Hinata never shuts up, generally, but he starts to talk more about his family and his life outside of school and baseball. He has a little sister who he claims is gonna be a famous volleyball player someday. His parents are aggressively happy and normal and “would love to meet” Tobio whenever he has the chance to come over. He’s decent at math, very good at English, and terrible with modern Japanese.

“But I bet you get all passing grades all the time,” Hinata says, frowning a little to himself as he catches the ball. 

“Not really,” Tobio finds himself admitting. “Baseball is way more interesting than school.”

“I would have thought you were a genius,” Hinata says. “So even the great King Kageyama fails tests sometimes.”

“Don’t call me that,” Tobio says, but it’s with a lot less bite than it used to have. “It’s not my fault math has letters now.”

Hinata laughs about that the rest of the lunch period. 

After a few days, Yamaguchi, too, begins to show up to their lunchtime get-togethers. He drags Tsukishima along with him, but the latter only shoves his headphones over his ears and drowns them out. Yamaguchi is surprisingly bright and funny. He makes Hinata laugh constantly, and sometimes even Tobio feels like he could smile, just a little, when one of his jokes is at Hinata’s expense.

Tobio has never really considered himself a people person and had thought it would grate against his nerves to have to constantly spend time around the same people all day. It’s not great the first day, especially when he’s already been around Hinata’s loud mouth for several hours when he makes yet another error in practice. But after a couple of weeks, Tobio finds that he’s actually a little lonely when Hinata has to stay in his own classroom during his break. 

Maybe it’s not so bad being friendly, after all.

\---

Summer Koshien comes up more quickly than Tobio could have expected. They’re still struggling with basic plays, but every once in a while, they pull off something really spectacular. Their offense is decently solid, too. He doesn’t want to hold out hope, but they just might have a shot at the finals. 

Tobio can taste the competition in the air as soon as he steps off the bus. There are teams everywhere, dressed in uniforms of every color. He looks down at the black of his own and feels a surge of pride.

Warmups are surprisingly quiet. They’re normally punctuated by Nishinoya loudly telling jokes or Hinata’s excited shouting, but everyone seems focused today. That will be good for the game, he supposes as he surveys them. Even Tsukishima has a determined set to his jaw.

“Kageyama!” Suga calls just before they take the field.

Tobio lifts his head. When he sees Suga’s gestures, he jogs over to him.

“Hey,” he says, punching Tobio in the left shoulder. Tobio frowns and holds up a hand to it as it stings. “Remember what I said. You’re great, but you can’t do this alone. Trust your teammates, alright?”

“Alright,” Tobio agrees. “Where did you learn to punch like that?”

Suga grins. “That’s a secret I’ll keep until my dying day, my sweet  _ kouhai _ . Go kick some ass.”

“Yes, Suga-san,” Tobio agrees, letting his lips turn up in a tiny smile.

As the first batter from Tokonami approaches the plate, Tobio turns and surveys the field.

“You’ve got this, Kageyama!” Hinata cheers. “Make ‘em swing!”

“Let’s go, Kageyama!” calls Yamaguchi from left field.

“Kageyamaaaaaa!” Nishinoya shouts, throwing his hands in the air.

Tobio distinctly feels the way his heart pounds in his ribcage. No one at Kitagawa Daiichi had ever cheered for him like this, whether he’d deserved it or not. For the first time, he’s a part of a  _ team _ , a team where the other players on the field actually like him and care about him, and where he likes and cares about them. It’s an overwhelming feeling, and as much as he’d like to dwell on it, he has a game to play.

Tobio picks up the ball and holds it in his hand, staring down the batter at the plate. It gets quiet, as it does sometimes, but he doesn’t feel like he’s alone. He’s keenly aware of Hinata, just behind him, crouched into a squat and ready for whatever comes his way; of Asahi, over at third, of Nishinoya and Tsukishima, of his outfielders, of Daichi behind the plate. He feels every one of them, and instead of nine players, they’re one team. He inhales, winds up, and releases. 

When the ball is hit to Hinata, he turns and makes a beautiful toss to first.

**Author's Note:**

> [My socials can be found here!](https://joshllyman.carrd.co)


End file.
